U23 Indonesia unexpectedly received very good news right before the match against U23 Vietnam
The final match between U23 Vietnam and U23 Indonesia will take place at 8pm on July 29 at Bung Karno Stadium. Right before the match, the team from the archipelago received good news when their main striker Jens Raven returned in time.
The Indonesian-Dutch striker suffered a serious injury at the end of the second extra time of the match against U23 Thailand. Afterwards, he was unable to take the penalty kick and had to be carried onto the bus by his teammates.
However, Jens Raven has recovered quickly. He fully participated in the team's training session yesterday. That brings many positive signs about the striker's ability to play in 2005.
Speaking to the press before the final match, the head of the Indonesian U23 delegation, Ahmed Zaki Iskandar, said: “Jens Raven has participated in all the recent training sessions and is being closely monitored by the medical team. He is almost normal. We will wait for the final assessment, but the possibility of Jens Raven playing from the start is completely possible.”
Jens Raven has returned to training and is ready to play in the match against U23 Vietnam (Photo: Bola).
Indonesian newspaper predicts the final match result between U23 Vietnam and U23 Indonesia
In the final match of the 2023 Southeast Asian U23 tournament, U23 Vietnam drew 0-0 with U23 Indonesia in 120 minutes of play. After that, we won against this opponent in the penalty shootout to win the championship.
Indonesian media believe in the home team’s ability to win. Bola newspaper commented: “Indonesia U23 won the ticket to the final after a brave performance against Thailand U23. Despite being behind, the team from the archipelago showed a resilient fighting spirit and commendable courage to beat their opponents on penalties.
Meanwhile, U23 Vietnam also had an impressive performance in the semi-finals when facing U23 Philippines. Despite conceding the first goal in the 36th minute, coach Kim Sang Sik and his team successfully turned the tables thanks to goals from Nguyen Dinh Bac and Nguyen Xuan Bac. The “Golden Stars” advanced to the final with a perfect record since the group stage.
U23 Indonesia really wants to pay back the "debt" to U23 Vietnam (Photo: Bola).
This is the third consecutive time that U23 Vietnam has participated in the AFF U23 final. In the previous two tournaments (2022 and 2023), they both won the championship. Notably, in the 2023 final, U23 Vietnam defeated U23 Indonesia on penalties after a 0-0 draw in regular time.
Asian newspapers frankly comment on U23 Vietnam and Indonesia before the final
Talking about U23 Vietnam, author Gabriel Tan wrote: “U23 Vietnam has the opportunity to affirm its dominance in regional youth football as it aims to win the U23 Southeast Asian Championship for the third consecutive time.
This will be even more meaningful when combined with the AFF Cup championship that the Vietnamese team won earlier this year. In terms of training and developing local talent, Vietnam can be considered a typical model in Southeast Asia over the past 8 years.
Everything started with the golden generation when U23 Vietnam won the runner-up position at the 2018 U23 Asia, then continued to impress with the 4th place at the 2018 ASIAD, a tournament where they only stopped at the semi-finals against Korea, a squad with names like Kim Min Jae, Hwang Hee Chan and Son Heung Min.
Vietnamese football has a talented young generation (Photo: VFF).
This group of players became the core of the teams that later won the AFF Cup 2018, won two consecutive SEA Games gold medals in 2019 and 2021, and reached the quarter-finals of the Asian Cup 2019. The Vietnamese team was also the only representative of Southeast Asia to participate in the final qualifying round of the 2022 World Cup, when only 12 teams were allowed to continue.
Of course, Indonesia will use their current performance in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers to prove that they are the number one team in Southeast Asia. However, the fact that Indonesia was eliminated from the group stage of the 2024 AFF Cup with a team consisting of local players shows that they still have many limitations.
For Vietnamese football, the value of pure tournaments (without naturalized players) in the region is still very high. In January, the Vietnamese team won the AFF Cup. Six months later, the U23 Vietnam team also has the opportunity to do the same. If U23 Vietnam wins against U23 Indonesia, Vietnamese football will further strengthen the belief that they are on the right track in developing youth football."
Supercomputer predicts the final result of U23 Vietnam - U23 Indonesia
The match between U23 Vietnam and U23 Indonesia in the final of U23 Southeast Asia 2025 promises to be a dramatic match. Although both teams are in good form, experts believe that U23 Vietnam has more advantages.
Ahead of the match, the supercomputer ChatGPT has made a prediction about the outcome of the confrontation between U23 Vietnam and U23 Indonesia. Both teams are highly rated, but this supercomputer believes that the stability in playing style and past head-to-head record are supporting the "golden star warriors" in the race for the championship.
Under the guidance of coach Kim Sang Sik, U23 Vietnam has shown impressive performance with 3 wins in the last 5 matches. The "Golden Dragons" have scored 7 goals and only conceded 3. The cohesive, well-organized play style and powerful weapons from set pieces have brought many important goals.
Although the defense sometimes lacked concentration, the stability and bravery throughout the tournament was a solid foundation for U23 Vietnam to enter the final match with high confidence.
Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/u23-viet-nam-u23-indonesia-20h-hom-nay-dinh-bac-van-khang-da-chinh-20250729190004445.htm
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